Chapter 14: The Windless Month
The day the wind stopped, the dragons of Windkeep Tower could hardly believe it. Was this some sort of nightmare? Was it the end of the world?
They barely took to the skies. Instead, they spend their days huddled within the tower, not daring to venture outdoors to feel the still air on their scales. The floating platforms hung limply, balloons sagging under the weight of it all. It was dead. They had done their best to provide shelter for travelers caught out in the stagnant air. The tower was fuller than it had ever been, but it had never had less energy.
Merry was the first to give flying a try.
"Come on! We don't need wind to flap our wings! We can still be wind dragons!" He tried to outside his downcast clanmates. They raised they heads, but seemed unwilling to lift their wings. Even Fenn, known for her endless optimism, seemed to have lost her spark within.
"The Windsinger has left us." The small queen muttered. "Something must have happened to him."
"If something has happened to the Windsinger, we must be prepared to fight." Nymph exclaimed, rallying together all the courage she could muster. "Strange things have been happening all over Sornieth! Ancient beings sighted near the Fortress of Ends, the Magisters have left the Occulus, new islands have been springing up in the Ashfall Wastes, dragons have been going missing from the Dragonhome. Trouble is coming for us all and we can't just sit back and let it happen!"
"But you're not windborn." Fenn pointed out. "You don't feel the emptiness... It's more than our magic not working. It's as if a key part of our souls are gone."
"You don't have to go." Nymph nodded. "But those of us who can fly should try. If this is permanent, we must move forward from here!"
Orkeck stepped forward towards Merry and Nymph. "I'll go too. I have been called to serve the Windsinger. Maybe it is time for me to go."
"Orkeck, no! Not yet!" Oriel raced towards the other wildclaw, tears forming in her electric blue eyes.
"I must, my dear. This is the time. This is my calling and if there I must go, and do my duty." Orkeck held her tight, then let go. "I will think of you every day, I promise."
"I'll never forget you." Oriel said, with a small smile. It would be impossible, with what was nestled in a nest of blankets upstairs in her quarters.
Orkeck turned to the other two volunteers. "I'll come with you for part of the journey, but I must complete it on my own."
Weeks passed, and life went on. Neither Merry not Nymph had yet returned, but flight without wind was difficult and energy consuming, so the journey towards the Cloudsong would be one that would require lots of rests.
Oriel feared for the safety of her children. Without the land's natural element nurturing the clutch, how could they grow strong and healthy? She spent most of her days in her quarters, looking after them. Not a single soul knew. She didn't know why she had kept it a secret, now that Orkeck had gone. The timing had never seemed right to tell anyone.
By the time it was nearing time for the eggs to hatch, the wind had been gone for nearly a month, and it was time for Oriel to admit she couldn't do this in her own. Wrapping the two eggs up in their blankets, she placed them gently in her bag and made her way upstairs.
Windkeep Tower did not yet have a hatchling caretaker, as these eggs would be the first to hatch within the new clan, but there were plenty of dragons who knew that they were doing when it came to hatchlings. Fenn was busy, trying to keep the clan together and doing her best to raise spirits in light of their missing scouts, so that left Amberlyn. From what Oriel had heard, the older wildclaw had a pretty sizable family once upon a time, though all that was gone now.
She climbed the final flight of stairs and found herself face to face with the great fire on the roof of the tower. Fenn had insisted it be kept going by whatever means possible. After all, should the fire go out, all hope would truly be lost. Currently, a skydancer was tending to the flame, tenderly adding fuel with such concentration, she did not notice Oriel's approach.
Carmen hissed as she spun, stretching her wings out threateningly.
"Sorry!" Oriel gasped. "I didn't mean to scare you! I just wanted to ask if you knew where Amberlyn is!"
"Amberlyn is resting." Carmen said, as if it should be obvious. "It's her day off. It is my turn to tend to the fire."
"Please, it's urgent!" Oriel pleaded.
Dipping her head, Carmen gestured to a door leading to a flat just below the platform the beacon rested on. It looked to be a chamber that was initially part of Sacredscream's library ship. Carmen returned to her task, mumbling to herself quietly. Oriel turned and carefully approached the door. After a brief hesitation, she knocked. She heard movement inside and the door swung open.
"Hi Amberlyn. I'm sorry to disturb you, but I really need your help." Oriel explained. She opened her bag to show the older wildclaw what was inside. Amberlyn's violet eyes widened, and she whisked the younger wildclaw inside.
"Are they Orkeck's?" Amberlyn asked as she bustled around her quarters, putting on the kettle. It was quite warm, and not very tidy. Stuff was strewn all over the place. Oriel gave a nod as she set the two eggs out on the table. Amberlyn handed her a cup of tea and began to examine the eggs.
"Undernourished." Amberlyn confirmed. "Don't worry, it's not your fault. I'm guessing every wind egg is reacting this way with the weather. I do wish you had told me sooner though, I could have helped. This is a great burden to carry on your own."
"I'm the only family they have." Oriel's eyes sparked with determination.
"No, that's not true." Amberlyn said. "And even if it were, the clan would be more than happy to help. It's part of being a clan."
"What do you mean, it's not true. I have no parents here, or siblings. And Orkeck left his whole family behind."
"Not all of his family." Amberlyn explained with a sigh. "He still had me. He is descended from my son, Baron. I was never entirely sure, as family lines got quite muddled after his great-grandparents left his grandfather to be raised in an orphanage, but after arriving here, the family resemblance was undeniable. Those children of yours are all that remains of my family, and I refuse to see them die."
Amberlyn pulled out some sort of mechanism that blew air onto the eggs. Oriel couldn't really tell how it worked.
"It belonged to one of my granddaughters, Cumulus." Amberlyn explained. "She used to work as a hatchling caretaker. This was for if an egg needed a little extra help."
Slowly, the colour began to the eggs, and Oriel could hear movement inside them. Suddenly, cracks were beginning to form on the shells.
"Amberlyn! Look!" Oriel gasped. Amberlyn leaned in to get a closer look.
"There's nothing like watching new life come into the world." Amberlyn sighed. "I have seen it countless times and it never ceases to amaze me."
The words were scarcely out of her mouth when there was a gust of wind. A few papers blew off the table as a breeze blew through an open window. The wind had returned. Oriel could hear cheering erupt around the tower, and dragons taking flight. She didn't care. Her children were more important right now.
The first to emerge from his shell was a pink and green male. His eyes wide open as his head popped out.
His sister hatched soon afterwards, letting out a shriek as she burst from the egg fluid and took her first breath of fresh, windblown air.
Amberlyn scooped them up, cleaned off the fluid, and checked them over.
"They're smaller than most hatchlings, but they'll be just fine." Amberlyn reassured Oriel, passing her the newly hatched wildclaws. Oriel took them into her arms and looked down at them warmly.
"They are perfect." She breathed. "Absolutely perfect."
The hatchlings are here! Don't have time to say more because this took longer than I expected to write and now I need to get going to work!
